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Ready to be graded, draft double media, 1822 words
We had a unique opportunity to talk to Chase Jensen this afternoon about the upcoming NSFL draft and his thoughts leading up to the big day. The six foot six monster out of Palm Beach by the way of Stanford had a great first season as a pro where he recorded over sixty catches for over eight hundred yards which was by far the most of any tight end in this particular cohort. Recent mock drafts by the talking heads around the league have Jensen as almost a lock as a first round selection. Let’s see what the future big leaguer has to say about all of the noise and chatter surrounding him this draft season.
“So Chase, many scouts and evaluators see you as the top tight end in this draft and worthy of a first round selection. What do you think of that? Do you think it’s a fair evaluation of your talent and commitment to this league?”
“You know, there are a lot of good tight ends in this league. Hell, I even have a couple of them as teammates in Palm Beach. Being a scout is a tough job in today’s league. There is so much talent on both sides of the ball. It has to be difficult to sort through all of the players and determine which guys are going to fizzle out and which ones are going to be stars. Back to your question though. Like I said, there are a lot of good guys and good tight ends to look at and I try to not pay too much attention to what the scouts are saying, but if I had to rank myself I think that I am pretty much the top tight end in the draft. I might not be the biggest, the fastest, or even the strongest but I think that I had the best season of any tight end in the league hands down. I wasn’t just the top receiving tight end, I was one of the best receivers in general this last season. I think that it speaks volumes that I was selected as the starting tight end in the pro bowl despite the fact that I played on a team that didn’t throw the ball around a whole lot.”
“I see, I see. So do you see yourself as a first round talent?”
“As I mentioned previously, it’s tough to say because there is so much talent to go around, but yes I really do believe that I am a first round talent. The amount of work that I put into making myself a success on the field is unparalleled by anyone else in the league. I don’t mean to make that sound like I’m putting other guys down because they have worked hard to get to this level just like I have, but I’m just putting it out there that I am always going to put in that extra effort at every step of the game. So yeah, I think I’ll be a first round talent.”
“That’s awesome. I hope that we do see you taken in the first round. Have you been in contact with any teams specifically about the draft?”
“Yeah, yeah, of course I have been in contact with scouts. I think that, I don’t know, I think I’ve been in contact with something like six or seven teams. I’ve talked to more of the teams than less is what I’m saying.”
“Did they talk to you about when potentially you would be drafted or how they plan on using you as a player within their offense?”
“Again, we’re not going to get specifics about anything from any of the scouts so I honestly don’t know anything about my potential draft position. Most of the guys that I talked to seemed really interested in me and had a lot of positive things to say about my training and on field product. That leads me to believe that I will be taken earlier rather than later, but who honestly knows. I think that there will be a whole lot of defensive players taken early so that might push me down the ranks a little bit, but I believe I am one of the top offensive pieces available in the draft. In terms of how GMs plan on using me, it seems like it has kind of been a little bit of everything from being on the line to splitting out wide to playing a little bit of flex. Honestly, I am willing to do whatever it is that my general manager needs me to do. I’m really flexible in what I can do so all I need is the word and I can make it happen. Shit, some general managers even talked to me about taking snaps on the defensive side of the ball. I’m not necessarily opposed to it. Playing tight end is my passion, but I will do my best at anything that is expected of me even if that means lining up on the defensive line. Hahaha I think I might be a little bit too big to play linebacker, but I could definitely get after the quarterback a little bit.”
“Okay Chase. Let’s change gears a little bit here and talk about the recent combine. How do you personally feel like you performed?”
“Well I think that all of my hard work paid off to be perfectly honest. The lowest I scored in any given test was second place with my own teammate, Dan Wright, giving me a run for my money. I think general managers will be pretty damn impressed though when they see a guy who is six foot six and a hundred and sixty pounds able to run a 4.4 second forty yard dash with a 30.7 vertical jump. What can I say? I think that I did better than even I expected at this event, but I really do hope that people took notice. I will say it was a rough day for Luke South though. I would say that his draft stock is headed south after he came in last on every single testing measure. It’s tough to watch that, but no one ever said that professional sports was pretty.”
“How do you think some of your Palm Beach teammates will do in this draft?”
“Man, it’s been frustrating listening to some of these mock drafts and positional rankings being thrown around. I think people look down on some of our players because we had a rough season, but there are so many guys on this team that kick ass. I don’t want to get too in depth because I’m not scout but here are some guys that are damn good at playing football who happen to play for Palm Beach. First of all, you can’t go wrong with any of the members of our linebacker corps. Hardshaft, Gabagool, and Nikko are all rock stars. They can play all over the field and do anything that you ask of them. They are athletic freaks and it’s a shame that they are getting overlooked in the mock draft scene because I would put money on it that all three of these guys will kill it in the NSFL. Terim, McKinnie, and Sinclair are all killer safety choices as well. These guys fly in the defensive backfield and are always looking to make the big play. You need a defense back on the outside? Look no further than Deon Taylor. He’s been making steady progress in becoming a strong player for the future. Varga is an awesome wide receiver and I can’t wait to see him prove his doubters wrong. Finally, Wright might have played a more subtle role in the Palm Beach offense, but he is a very good tight end and will make waves at the next level.”
“Wow, so Palm Beach does have quite a bit of talent despite the record. As you know, the NSFL is expanding. What are your thoughts on potentially playing for one of the two new teams?”
“I think it’s awesome that the league is expanding. I wouldn’t mind playing for an expansion team even in the slightest. It’s going to take time for these teams to build, but I have faith in the general managers that were selected that they will build awesome teams. It would be really interesting getting to walk in day one and start with a completely blank slate, you know. This also gives the general managers a lot of freedom in how they are going to go about their strategies for the season. Anyway, yeah, no worries from me about potentially going to an expansion team. That way I would get to spend another season down with my boys from the beach and hopefully have a better season than this last go around.”
“Alright Chase, one last topic. The pro bowl. Congratulations on being selected. What can you say about this selection?”
“Man, as you know, Palm Beach didn’t make the playoffs so that was kind of rough missing out on that. Winning a championship is always the goal, but it is still really nice being acknowledged for your on field performance. I can’t wait to go out there and just keep on doing what I do all the time. It should be a lot of fun and I can’t wait to meet up with the guys from San Antonio and Tijuana.”
“As a closing note, do you think that you are one of the front runners for DSFL tight end of the year. Any thoughts on that?”
“Geez, yeah, as I said earlier, there are a lot of good tight ends in this league and I wouldn’t be surprised if any of them won this award. It would be a huge honor to win something as prestigious as that. At the end of the day though, awards aren’t the biggest deal to me. I just want to do what I can to help my team out and I want to do that to the best of my ability.”
“Alright thank you for your time and good luck in the upcoming draft.”
“Thanks a lot man, I can’t wait.”
So there you have it folks. Chase Jensen looks to be selected in the first round of the upcoming draft, thinks that a bunch of Solar Bears should be going earlier rather than later in the draft, and that expansion teams are pretty neat amongst many other things. We’ll be meeting up with Chase again after the draft to get his thoughts on where he and his teammates end up. It’s exciting times in the NSFL as one hell of a draft looms. Where will your favorite players end up? Tune in soon and we might have a super sexy mock draft for you… or I might run out of time and you won’t. I haven’t decided yet.